First time buyer wanting to buy and sell

AdrianC

The only way you're going to get your paws on anything worth having is to get in with local agents. Make YOUR number the first one they call when something comes up, because you can bet there's others on their list.


By the time it gets to RightMove, you can bet that there's a bunch of people already turned it down because there's no margin.


In addition, the only way you're making money at this end of the market is by DIYing the work. Even if you're half-way between Brum and Manc, that's a hell of a lot of backward-and-forward.

jonnygee2

Me and my partner are looking to buy a house in the near future, but we want to buy something a bit run down, do it up, sell it on and repeat the process a couple of times to build up enough equity to buy our dream house!!

I'm not as skeptical as everyone else here about this, depending on the timeframe you are talking about.

I'm all for buying a doer-upper as your first home. It's exactly what I've recently done. I had absolutely no skills to be honest, but my dad has been helping and I'm going to a load of night school classes on DIY and painting, and slowly starting to get somewhere.

If you mean you want to do this over five years per property, slowly building up to your dream home in some years time by making some money on each one up to then, I'm with you. You can fund the renovations out of your pocket as you go along too, it's not that expensive as you go along.

If you mean you want to get there in a couple of years, I'm sorry but it doesn't work like that.

AdrianC

finq75 wrote: »

Do you think those "lists" actually truly exist?

Yes, because I've been on them.


The number of times I've been on the receiving end of...

<ring, ring> Hi, it's EA calling. Are you still looking, because I think we might have something coming on soon, just waiting for final instruction from the vendor - <description>...

jonnygee2

Do you think those "lists" actually truly exist?

Like actual lists? That would involve the Estate Agent writing stuff down, updating the records etc which all sounds a bit too much like work for an estate agent.

I imagine they have some good property investor chums who they can call when someone needs a quick sale. I'd imagine the best way to get on such a 'list' is to invite the right person out to a rather memorable lunch.

Thrugelmir

finq75 wrote: »

Do you think those "lists" actually truly exist? There are surely hundreds and thousands of cash buyers wanting to find a house they can flip so surely the agents have hundreds of people on their list and are the houses that need work any cheaper than those that don't?

Lots of (builder) developers around our way. So much so that there are rarely any bargains to be had. Council is getting tougher on infilling too.

AdrianC

finq75 wrote: »

So do you mind me asking

1. Do you have to be a cash buyer to be on those lists do you think?

Just a credible one.

2. Do you think you have to have a relationship with the estate agent as in having bought houses from them before?

Definitely not.